Fate's Wild Card Ch.14 (Early access)

AN: Ozpin has a different outlook in life.

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-Ozpin-

Ozpin sits quietly in his office, the soft glow of multiple screens reflected in his glasses as he observes the initiation unfold. Usually he would remain on the cliffs watching everything through his tablet, but for this particular occasion he wanted to have as many screens open as possible—there were plenty of targets of interest that required his personal attention.

Like the young Ruby Rose who was exceeding his expectations, even if Glynda still didn't approve of his decision to enroll a fifteen-year-old girl, though she would be turning sixteen soon enough.

The screens display a grid of feeds from hidden cameras positioned throughout the Emerald Forest, each one tracking different groups of prospective students as they navigate their first real test as future Huntsmen and Huntresses.

His deputy stands to his left, her posture rigid and professional as always, though he can see the slight tension in her shoulders as she watches a particularly reckless student charge headfirst into a pack of Beowolves without any semblance of strategy. To his right, Amber leans forward slightly, her brown eyes tracking the movements of various candidates with obvious concern.

"Team coordination could use significant work, but it is expected." Glynda mutters, adjusting her glasses as she watches one hastily formed group fall into complete disarray against what should have been a manageable encounter. "Half of these students seem to think charging blindly constitutes a viable battle strategy."

Ozpin raises an eyebrow as he focuses on a specific screen showing four candidates struggling against a single Ursa—the younger variant at that. Their movements are uncoordinated, their attacks poorly timed, and their positioning leaves much to be desired. One of them is already nursing what appears to be a significant injury to her arm.

"Indeed," he says calmly, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "Though, struggle often breeds the most valuable lessons. Sometimes the hardest-won knowledge proves the most enduring."

His gaze shifts to another screen where a different group moves toward the temple ruins, dispatching Grimm with minimal effort and impressive coordination. The contrast is stark, but not unexpected. Every year brings a mix of natural talent, raw potential, and those who have yet to truly understand what it means to face mortality.

However, the small counter in the top right corner of his main screen reads "1" in red numbers.

Glynda's breath catches slightly. "One casualty already." 

Ozpin's expression doesn't change as he watches the number tick up to "2." His fingers pause momentarily on his mug.

"Two students," Amber says quietly, her voice carrying a note of genuine sadness. "Two families who will receive terrible news today. Professor, shouldn't we—"

"I'm well aware of the count," he interrupts gently but firmly, setting his mug down with a soft clink. He reaches for a stack of pre-written letters on his desk—fine parchment with the Academy's seal already pressed into the wax, waiting only for names and signatures. The weight of those letters seems heavier each year.

The counter ticks to "3," faster than he had anticipated.

"Three," Glynda states simply, her jaw tightening as she turns to face him. "Ozpin, at what point does necessary training become needless sacrifice?"

"When it reaches five," Ozpin replies without hesitation, his pen moving across the first letter with practiced strokes, "I will immediately deploy senior students and our staff to intervene and protect the remaining candidates. Until then, this trial serves its intended purpose."

Amber shifts uncomfortably beside them, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "But Professor, these are just children. Some of them barely—"

"These children," Ozpin interrupts, his voice taking on a more serious tone while remaining gentle, "will one day face situations where death is not just possible, but inevitable—whether it claims a teammate, a civilian they're meant to protect, or themselves. Better they learn to understand that cost now, in a controlled environment where we can still intervene, than discover it when lives truly hang in the balance and no help is coming."

The counter holds steady at "3" for several long minutes, and Ozpin allows himself a small measure of relief. The forest seems to have claimed its tribute for now.

He focuses on another screen where he watches Pryce Locke and Pyrrha Nikos move through the forest with increasing coordination, their partnership showing unexpected promise.

"I must admit," he says thoughtfully, switching to a different camera feed, "I didn't expect Mr. Locke to partner with Miss Nikos. An unexpected but interesting development."

Glynda raises an eyebrow, her professional curiosity overriding her lingering concern about the casualties. "You had someone else in mind for that thief?"

"I was rather hoping he might end up with Miss Belladonna," Ozpin admits, watching another screen that shows Blake partnered with Yang Xiao Long. "It would have made things considerably more... manageable to keep an eye on both of our special cases simultaneously."

After all, the faunus girl understood the stakes and the conditions placed upon her if she wished to remain at Beacon and not a dark cell. He probably would have allowed her enrollment without much issue, but Glynda had demanded assurances that they could monitor her activities.

A former terrorist, even a reformed one, posed different challenges than a mere thief when it came to their past actions and potential future choices. The consequences simply couldn’t be considered the same.

He switches the camera feed again and finds Pryce and Pyrrha already at the temple ruins, reaching for one of the chess pieces. The rabbit faunus's hand closes around a white pawn without hesitation.

"Interesting choice," Ozpin murmurs, stroking his chin thoughtfully. There were several other pieces available—rooks, knights, even a bishop—but he had gravitated toward the pawn. That might prove problematic when it came time to form the teams, depending on how the other partnerships developed.

For a moment, he considers the possibility of manipulating the team formations. He could certainly fabricate a reasonable explanation for reassigning partnerships, but it wouldn't be fair to those who had already formed genuine bonds in the field. Then again, fairness had never been his primary concern when greater purposes were at stake.

Life, after all, was built upon necessary sacrifices.

Glynda watches the screen showing Pryce examining the chess piece with obvious suspicion, clearly trying to determine if there's some hidden meaning or trap involved. "Ozpin, given our... tumultuous last encounter with Mr. Locke and his connections to the criminal underground, are you certain it's wise to allow this partnership to stand?"

"Quite certain," Ozpin chuckles softly, remembering the events from several days ago when they'd brought the young man in for questioning. "That wasn't exactly the most cordial of meetings, was it?"

Spitting at Qrow, that was certainly a new thing.

"Among other colorful displays of defiance," Glynda adds dryly, her lips pursing at the memory. "And I have serious doubts about his ability to adapt to academy life. Some people are simply too set in their ways to change, regardless of the opportunities presented to them."

"Perhaps not," Ozpin agrees, taking another sip of his coffee and savoring the warmth. "But I've always believed in the power of second chances, Glynda. After all, I wouldn't have allowed you to join my academy all those years ago if I didn't."

He gives her a knowing look.

That observation causes the composed woman to visibly recoil, her professional mask slipping for just a moment as she quickly looks away and adjusts her glasses with unnecessary precision. "That... that was different. I was young and foolish back then. And I never endangered other students with my past mistakes."

Amber tries unsuccessfully to suppress her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand as her shoulders shake slightly, earning a glare from the older woman. "Sorry, Glynda. It's just... hearing you describe yourself as 'young and foolish'."

"We all have chapters in our past we'd prefer to keep closed," Ozpin says diplomatically, though there's clear amusement in his voice. "The question isn't whether someone has made mistakes, but whether they're willing to learn from them and grow beyond what they once were."

Glynda straightens her jacket. "Yes, well, let's hope Mr. Locke proves more... adaptable than some of our previous experimental admissions."

"Indeed," Ozpin nods, his attention returning to the screens. "Though I suspect Miss Nikos might prove to be exactly the influence he needs. Sometimes the most unlikely partnerships yield the most extraordinary results."

The counter remains steady at "3," and Ozpin allows himself a small smile. Perhaps this year's initiation wouldn't be quite as costly as he'd feared.

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-Pryce Locke-

Pryce watches in stunned silence as the small girl in the red cloak launches herself high into the air, her massive scythe propelling her upward with controlled bursts of what looks like controlled explosions. Below her, a King Taijitu—that's what Pyrrha had called the massive two-headed serpent when they'd first spotted it—writhes helplessly against what looks like strange runic symbols in the form of snowflakes that have somehow pinned it to the ground, though both heads are still very much focused on Ruby.

The bitchy atlesian standing some distance away has her rapier extended with perfect form, as more icy blue patterns around her glow. Some kind of semblance, he realizes, though he's never seen anything like it before. 

It's far more sophisticated than anything he's witnessed on the streets. Which is unironically fitting for that stuck up princess.

Ruby—because that's definitely the awkward weapon-obsessed girl from yesterday, despite how completely different she looks in actual combat—pulls the trigger on her weapon. The loud recoil from the shot propels her downward like a missile, and her scythe cleaves clean through both heads of the massive Grimm in a single, devastating strike.

The King Taijitu dissolves into black mist before the separated heads even hit the ground.

"Holy shit," Pryce mutters under his breath, genuinely impressed despite himself. He looks down at his gunblade, then back at Ruby's weapon, and suddenly feels a little inadequate. But then again, he reminds himself, he did fine earlier with his weapon, and that girl clearly has years of formal training unlike him.

Ruby lands gracefully and immediately starts celebrating, pumping her fist in the air with infectious enthusiasm. "YES! Did you see that, Weiss? Perfect timing! Your glyphs held it perfectly and my scythe went WHOOSH through the air and then SLICE right through both heads and—oh my gosh, that was even better than I imagined it would be!"

She spins around toward her partner with her hand raised for a high-five, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.

Weiss just sighs in exasperation, lowering her weapon. "Yes, Ruby, I saw it. Very... theatrical." Despite her words, she reluctantly offers her hand with the barest hint of a satisfied smirk.

Ruby beams and enthusiastically slaps Weiss's palm. "That was AWESOME! I knew we would make such an incredible team! Did you see how perfect it was? And the timing was flawless! We're like—we're like a real Huntress team already! Combat skirts for the win!"

Pryce simply hadn't expected to encounter anybody so soon after leaving the temple ruins, but there they were. He and Pyrrha had been walking when they encountered the King Taijitu but they didn’t get a chance as Ruby and Weiss burst onto the scene and dispatched it.

It's genuinely surprising to see that awkward, rambling girl from yesterday moving like such a skilled and confident fighter despite her small stature. The transformation is almost like watching a completely different person.

Then Ruby triggers something on her weapon, and the massive scythe collapses into a much more compact form that she slings across her back. She continues bouncing excitedly for a moment before finally noticing them standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Oh! Pryce!" she calls out, waving enthusiastically before her expression shifts to uncertainty. "And... um..." She tilts her head, clearly trying to remember something she never knew.

"Pyrrha Nikos," his partner supplies politely.

"Right! Pyrrha!" Ruby says, then immediately starts bounding over to them with that same infectious energy. "Did you guys see that? Did you see what we just did? That was a King Taijitu and it was HUGE—like, way bigger than I expected from the textbooks—and Weiss used her cool semblance that held it perfectly in place and then I went SWOOSH and—wait, what are you guys doing here anyway? Did you get your relics too? What did you get? We got chess pieces! Which is kinda weird for ancient ruins but also really cool because who doesn't love a good game of chess, right? Though I'm terrible at chess, but that's not the point—"

"Ruby…" Weiss interrupts with strained patience.

"Are you guys heading back to the cliffs too? Did you guys fight anything exciting on the way here? Besides that Taijitu just now, I mean, because we totally handled that one, though maybe we jumped in a little quick? Sorry if we stole your fight! Your partner looks like she could totally kick some serious Grimm butt and—"

"Yes, we retrieved a relic," Pryce answers, but his ears suddenly perk up when he catches a particular sound—teeth grinding together in barely controlled fury. He tries to be subtle as he glances from the corner of his eye.

He finds Weiss glaring absolute daggers at him, her icy blue eyes practically radiating murderous intent. Those pristine features are set in an expression of pure, refined hatred that could probably freeze a lake.

So she really knows how to hold a grudge. Impressive dedication, really. 

And he is very tempted to take a chance to kiss her again now that he knows that she is submissive if you put a strong attitude.

He just grins and shamelessly blows her a kiss, which makes her face turn red that clashes beautifully with her white hair. Her pale complexion makes the blush much more obvious and dramatic, which just makes it even funnier to him. She opens her mouth like she wants to deliver some scathing commentary, but seems to choke on her own indignation.

"So what relics did you guys get?" Ruby asks, completely oblivious to the tension crackling between her partner and Pryce. "We got this!" She pulls out an ornate white chess piece—a knight—and holds it up proudly. "Pretty cool design, right?"

He reaches into his pocket and produces a white pawn, holding it up casually. "First one I spotted. Figured simple was better."

"Ooh, they're both white pieces, so maybe that means we're on the same team now!" Ruby says with growing excitement. "This is gonna be so awesome! We can work together and coordinate attacks and share strategies and—"

Pyrrha smoothly steps in before Ruby can continue rambling. "We should probably start heading back to the cliffs. I'm sure the professors are waiting to evaluate our performance."

"Yes," Weiss says sharply, her voice still tight with barely controlled anger as she continues glaring at him. "We need to return immediately and report our success. Some of us have been... unnecessarily delayed long enough."

The venom in her tone makes it clear exactly who she blames for any delays, despite the fact that they literally just ran into each other by coincidence. But Pryce just shrugs, completely unbothered by her hostility. After all, he knows exactly which buttons to push if he really wanted to get under her skin, but their partners being present means he'll behave. 

Mostly.

"Lead the way, princess," he says with an exaggerated mock bow that only makes Weiss's left eye twitch more violently.

Ruby, still blissfully unaware of the underlying tension, claps her hands together. "This is so exciting! Walking back together like a real team! Well, two teams, but still! We can share stories about our fights and compare techniques and—oh! Pyrrha, even if I was a little worried I saw you earlier during the launch and you looked so cool!"